The movie Blazing Saddles was made back in 1974. How was Mel Brooks allowed to get away with using the “N” word so much? Was there any sort of outcry?
People could take a joke in 1974. Just look at what Detroit was putting on the roads.
USC Trojans: Hail the National Champions!
That’s Hedly!
A serious answer. The farther back in time you go, the less outcry you hear about this word, rather than the greater. Blacks simply had next to no social, cultural, or political power back then.
And, of course, this was the attitude that Brooks - not to mention his black co-writer, Richard Pryor - were satirizing in the movie, mocking the idiot whites who were using the word.
Precisely. Brooks used the word to make bigots look like horse’s asses. That is the one acceptable use of the word, and even today, in a much more politically correct world, it sometimes makes the world acceptable (although today, only blacks can use it, even for that purpose). When they show it on television, they usually cut it, but it was effective in the theater — everyone who said the N word was an idiot and a moron, and it showed.
Except that little old lady who brought Sherrif Bart the pie. She was just a hypocrite.
You have to remember, Brooks also poked fun at the gay stereotype, government, big business, and the movie studios. It wasn’t just blacks and rednecks.
And the Irish. And the Chinese a little bit. And don’t forget 2D cutouts of people with sproingy heads.
Yes. The sproingy headed 2D community was outraged.
Perfectly illustrated when the redneck railroad supervisor demands, “Give us a good ol’ nigger work song!” and Bart responds with the Cole Porter song “I Get a Kick Out of You”. Mel Brooks’ movies have always sympathized with the underdog – the more powerful a group is, the more ridicule they’ve got coming.
And except for Bart himself, who held himself hostage with the N word.
I don’t much like the movie as a whole, but I LOVE that scene.
Blasphamy!
I loved this movie. Especially the bean scene!
Too bad that fire didn’t flare up after every fart!
But until the Rock Ridge townsfolk changed their ways they were marginal bad guys in the context of the story, and it was the bad guys who said “nigger”, most of whom were stupid as well. And they were idiots and morons since they all fell for Bart “hostage” trick (Oh, baby you are so brilliant! And they are so dumb!") Besides the hint was that the whole town was inbred anyway. The gov. wasn’t strictly a villain, but was dumb enough to be Hedley’s dupe. Besides does he ever say the whole word? Although he says “nig-” twice during the “Lincoln, Jefferson, Le Petomane” scene.
sneaks into the thread
Oh fellas, look what I found!
<deep voice on>
Where da’ white women at?
<deep voice off>
sneaks out of thread
MeanJoe
I think it’s interesting that almost every time I run across this on TV, the fart scene is edited out. “Nigger? Well, OK, but no farting!”
I did once catch it with the N-word taken out. I hope nobody else watching that one was seeing it for the first time.
I’ve seen that airing, too. They also eliminated the school marm referring to the Governor as the “leading asshole in the state.”
TV exec: “Gee, I’ve got an idea. Let’s show a very funny movie, but bleep out every bit of humor we can find!”
I saw it once where the fart scene was IN, but the fart noise was edited out. The scene made no sense whatsoever. The same version contained the N-word.
Now, this movie doesn’t do justice to itself. I recall seeing this at a cinema when it was first released and it was far more subversive than it seems now. My friends and I were continually laughing at things that the rest of the audience didn’t think was all that funny. Naturally we ended up in hysterics. And no chemical enhancement required.
Actually, that’s what I meant to say. Thanks, malaka. You see all these cowboys eating beans, standing up a little, then sitting down. It’s not til Taggert comes out waving his hat that you say to yourself, “Oh! Beans! I get it.”